Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
by CycloneT
Summary: Emily Prentiss, I never pegged you as a dirty fighter." Morgan/Prentiss


Title: Two Out of Three Ain't Bad  
AUTHOR: Cyclone  
RATING: K+  
KEYWORDS: Morgan/Prentiss  
SPOILERS: none  
SUMMARY: "Emily Prentiss, I never pegged you as a dirty fighter."  
NOTES: Fluff. Read at your own peril.

XxX

It wasn't something that she'd planned, but when it was all said and done she wasn't unhappy with the result. After all, she'd won the point, and so what if it wasn't totally fair and square? Rules were meant to be broken, the end justified the means, winning was the name of the game, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And besides, after he'd claimed the first point as his there was no way she could have let that smug look stay on his face. Really, he only had himself to blame. Because at the end of the day she'd only used the weapons in her arsenal to down an opponent who'd outweighed and out-skilled her. Derek was a born competitor; he understood how these things worked. So she'd did what she did and won the second point, and now gloating rights, and their little side bet, all hinged on the crucial third point.

"How's the view from down there?" she asked, dancing from foot to foot while performing a few mock punches. When he'd goaded her into taking him up on his offer of judo lessons it probably never crossed his mind that their sparring would take this turn. Technically, she knew that the way she'd felled him had nothing to do with judo, and there was no way it would ever stand up in a court of law. But his haughty assertion that he'd mop the floor with her had irritated her, so she'd taken steps to bring him down a peg or two.

"Emily Prentiss, I never pegged you as a dirty fighter," Derek said as he got to his feet, but he said it with a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes, so she knew he wasn't that upset about her little deviation from the game plan.

"Oh, I could teach you some moves," she smirked, adopting the praying mantis position she'd seen on a late night kung fu movie. Which also technically had nothing to do with judo, but she wasn't one to split hairs.

He laughed and made a pretence of dusting himself off. "I bet you could. Maybe you could show me that illegal one you made just before you blindsided me."

Now that was a bad idea. She did _not_ want him using her own tricks against her. "Ah, I don't think so."

"You introduced it, Prentiss. It's only fair that you show me how it's done. Properly."

"Properly?" she sputtered. "It knocked you on your ass, didn't it?"

"That's only because you surprised me," he explained. "If I'd been expecting it I could have countered it. And _you_ would have wound up on _your_ ass."

"Please," she scoffed. "You never would have gotten that close."

"If I knew we were bending the rules that much then I would have. And I would have won."

There he was, goading her again. He was just begging to be taught another lesson. "You sound pretty sure of yourself there, Morgan."

"I have reason to be. If you can't handle the heat, then you shouldn't bring it to the plate."

She stopped dancing around and studied him closely. "You're mixing your metaphors. Did you get a concussion when you fell?" she asked with mock concern. "Should I call the paramedics?"

"You're awfully cocky for someone who's about to be put in her place."

"You think you're going to do that, do you?

"I _know_ I'm going to do that."

"With my move?"

"With your move."

She slipped on a coat of arrogance and said, "My move isn't for the faint hearted."

He slipped on a coat of his own. "I think I can handle it."

"I don't know; you collapsed like a deck of cards. Perhaps you should stick to something a little more sedate . . . like shadow boxing."

"You know, you're digging your own grave. What's the saying? Oh yeah, paybacks a bitch."

"I think I'm pretty safe," she scoffed.

"Care to put some money on that?"

"I couldn't take your money, Morgan. You're going to need it for all those therapy sessions."

"Therapy sessions?"

"Getting knocked on your ass twice in the same day can't be good for your oversized ego."

"Not gonna happen," he said with supreme confidence. "So, are we going do this thing or are you going to procrastinate some more?"

"I'm not procrastinating. I'm merely giving you the opportunity to back out gracefully without losing face. If you choose not to take advantage of my good nature then anything that happens is entirely your fault."

"I think I can live with that."

"Okay. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'm not worried. Obviously the first time was a fluke. Even if we recreated the exact same conditions I don't think you could pull it off again."

"Fluke?"

"Of course. What else could it be? There was no skill in it."

"No skill?"

"You heard me."

"Oh, you're going down now, buddy," she promised.

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so. It's as good as in the bag."

Derek laughed. "Don't get ahead of yourself there, Princess. I only need one more point to win."

"So do I," she retorted. "And don't call me Princess."

"Seems like you were a lot less chattier the first time around," he noted. "I think this is all front."

"Ha!" she snorted. "You'll soon be eating those words. And then you'll be eating mat. Again."

"We'll see."

"I don't want to do this," she warned, "But I will. Just to teach you a lesson."

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

"Please do."

They circled each other for a few minutes, and the smile on his face grew broader the longer she hesitated.

"Well?"

"I'm just waiting for the perfect opportunity."

"I could go grey here, waiting for you to make your move."

"You'd need hair first."

"Ouch. Low, Prentiss."

"Sorry," she smirked, sounding anything but.

"Don't fling it if you can't bring it," he warned.

"Trash talk? Really, Morgan? Is that the best you can do?"

"Baby, I haven't even started yet. But I will finish it. Right about the time I knock that smile off your face."

"That's not gonna happen."

"Face it, it's inevitable. Even if you do manage to get me again, and that's a pretty big if, I'll have your move memorised by then. So it's only a matter of time before I turn the tables and –"

Emily saw her opening and took advantage. She held him for one, two, three beats, and then just because she could she held him for three more. She broke the kiss and finished by sweeping his feet from underneath him. Technically not judo, but at this point in time it was all a matter of semantics.

Derek hit the mat with a soft thud and a grin on his lips.

"How's that for skill?" she asked.

"You've got the moves, baby," he agreed, conceding defeat.

She fell to her knees, straddling his legs and pinning him with her weight. "Now admit it," she crooned.

"Admit what?" he asked, still grinning.

"That I am the superior being. Admit it and I'll let you up."

"I admit nothing. And you're in my territory now."

Before she could figure out what that meant he somehow extricated himself from her hold and flipped her. She found herself flat on the mat with his hard body covering hers, trapped and completely disinterested in moving. And he was still grinning at her.

"Now what would _you_ do to _you_ if you were _me_?"

"Well," she said, licking her lips and wriggling her hips _just so_, giving him a preview of exactly what he was in for later, "I did say you were going down."

His responding leer told her that he had no problem with that.

End.


End file.
